Postmix beverage dispensing system

ABSTRACT

A postmix juice dispensing system for dispensing a finished beverage directly from a pliable beverage concentrate having an ice point at or near freezer temperatures, with little or no conditioning. The system preferably uses a one-piece, unitary, disposable package that includes both the concentrate container and a positive displacement metering pump. The disposable package is placed in the dispenser which automatically connects the pump to a pump motor. A mixing nozzle is connected to the metering pump and a water line is connected to the mixing nozzle. Upon pushing a load button, the dispenser automatically feeds compressed air on top of a piston in the concentrate container to force concentrate into the pump. The dispenser automatically reads an indicator on the package to set the pump speed in response to the type of concentrate in the package. The dispenser requires no cleanup or sanitization and allows rapid flavor change.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/752,406filed Aug. 30, 1991, now abandoned, and having the same title, which wasin turn a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/634,857 filed Dec. 27, 1990, now abandoned, and having the sametitle, which was in turn a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 07/534,601 filed Jun. 6, 1990, with the same title,now abandoned, and is also a continuation-in-part to U.S. patentapplication entitled "Progressive Cavity Pump" filed Jun. 14, 1991, Ser.No. 07/715,433, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to beverage dispensing and in particular to apostmix juice dispensing system for dispensing a finished beverage froma pliable concentrate at or near freezer temperatures with no or minimalconditioning.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Postmix juice dispensing systems are known. Orange juice concentrate,for example, is distributed frozen. Restaurants remove concentrate fromthe freezer and thaw the concentrate in a cooler prior to dispensing.The restaurant personnel has to estimate its juice requirements at leasttwo days in advance and place sufficient concentrate in its cooler. Ifthe restaurant's estimates are incorrect or if someone forgets, therestaurant will run out of thawed concentrate. Also, there is often alimited amount of cooler space available for thawing orange juiceconcentrate. When a restaurant runs out of thawed concentrate, juice canno longer be sold or else measures are sometimes taken to quickly thawfrozen concentrate and such measures often are inefficient andineffective and also sometimes affect the taste of the resultingproduct. Orange juice concentrate has typically been 3+1 concentrate(meaning that it is to be mixed 1 part concentrate to 3 parts of waterto be reconstituted), which has an ice point of about 17° F. At freezertemperatures (about -25° F. to 10° F.) this product is not pliable andwill not flow.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a postmix juicedispensing system for dispensing with concentrate at or near freezertemperatures with little or no conditioning.

It is another object of this invention to provide a postmix beveragedispensing package for frozen concentrate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a one-piece,integral concentrate-pump package that includes both a concentratecontainer and a positive displacement metering pump.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A postmix beverage dispensing system for dispensing a finished beveragedirectly from a pliable concentrate at or near freezer temperatures withno or minimal conditioning. The beverage dispensing system of thisinvention includes placing a one-piece, unitary package including aconcentrate container and a positive displacement metering pump into adispenser such that the pump connects to a motor in the dispenser,connecting a mixing nozzle to the pump outlet, and connecting a waterline to the mixing nozzle. The concentrate in the concentrate containeris also packed into the pump inlet which is open to the concentrate. Theconcentrate is then pressurized by an air drive system acting on apiston in the concentrate container. When it is desired to dispense abeverage, the pump motor operates the pump to force metered quantitiesof concentrate into the mixing nozzle where it thoroughly mixes withwater while flowing through a static mixer. The finished beverage isdispensed from the static mixer into a cup.

When it is desired to replace the concentrate container either with afull one or with a different product, the one-piece, integral packageincluding the concentrate container and the metering pump is removed andreplaced with a different package. The mixing nozzle which has beenattached to the pump can also be removed with the one-piece package.Thus, because all product contact surfaces are disposable, the dispenserrequires virtually no cleanup or sanitization, and a rapid flavor changecan be made.

This invention includes providing concentrate of various juice productssuch as orange juice or apple juice that have low ice points, downaround 0° F., so that the concentrates will be pliable at or nearfreezer temperatures. For example, a preferred orange juice product forthis invention is 5+1 concentrate, although any desired ratio up toabout 7.5+1 could be used. The reduced amount of water in 5+1concentrate (compared to presently used 3+1) prevents a phase change orfreezing, at freezer temperatures as low as 0° F. or somewhat lower. The5+1 concentrate at 0° F. does not readily flow by gravity. A containerof 0° F. product can be inverted and no product will flow out. Also, theproduct is so thick that a pump's suction cannot pull product from thecontainer. However, the product is still pliable and can be used in thisinvention. For example, for an orange juice concentrate having an icepoint of 1° F. and located in a freezer at 4° F., the package can godirectly from the freezer to the dispenser with no conditioning(heating) and beverage can be immediately dispensed therefrom. If theproduct is apple juice at an ice point of 0° F. and located in a freezerat -5° F., then a brief conditioning to bring the package to 0° F. wouldbe required before placing the package in the dispenser. When noconditioning is required, the package is put directly from the freezerinto the dispenser. The term "minimal conditioning" means heating theconcentrate up to a temperature of no more than 10° F. The term"directly" is hereby defined for use in this application as meaningwithout first heating the concentrate or forcing the concentrate througha heat exchanger. The term pliable is used in its normal meaning. A 5+1orange juice concentrate, for example, has a reduced amount of watersuch that at or near 1° F. it is pliable and although it will notreadily flow by gravity or by a pump's suction, it will flow underpressure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more fully understood from the detaileddescription below when read in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein like reference numerals refer to like elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partly broken-away front perspective view of a dispenseraccordingly to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the canister and pumpingmechanism of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partly cross-sectional side view through the canister andpumping mechanism of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partly broken away perspective view of the pumping mechanismof the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partly cross-sectional side view showing the water pump ofthe dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partly exploded perspective view of the concentratecontainer and of the metering pump and mixing nozzle used in thedispenser of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7A-7G are partly cross-sectional side views through the meteringpump and mixing nozzle showing the operation thereof;

FIG. 8 is a partly broken away perspective view of the concentratecontainer and metering pump as they are packaged together;

FIG. 9 is a partly schematic side view of an alternate embodiment ofthis invention;

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D are partly cross-sectional, partial sideviews through a preferred embodiment of a metering pump, showing theoperation thereof;

FIG. 11 is a partly cross-sectional, side view of another embodiment ofa dispenser according to this invention;

FIGS. 12A-12C are cross-sectional side views of an air drive assembly inits unpressurized, partially pressurized, and fully pressurizedoperating positions;

FIGS. 13A-13C are cross-sectional side views of another air driveassembly in its unpressurized, partially pressurized and fullypressurized operating positions;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional side view of a progressive cavity pumpwhich can be permanently mounted in the dispenser of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional side view of a disposable concentratecontainer and progressive cavity pump integral therewith that can beused in the dispenser of FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a section view taken along lines 16--16 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a partly broken-away perspective view of the one-piece,unitary package of this invention;

FIG 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 18--18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an exploded, isometric view of a swash plate pump (or rotarypiston pump) useful in the dispenser of this invention; and

FIG. 20 is a partly cross-sectional view of a unitary package includinga disposable concentrate container, the rotary piston pump of FIG. 19,and a mixing nozzle useful in the dispenser of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-8 show a first embodiment ofa beverage dispenser 10 according to the present invention fordispensing a beverage, such as orange juice, into a cup 12. Thedispenser 10 mixes water with concentrate which is supplied in aconcentrate container 14 (see FIGS. 3 and 6) and which is at freezertemperature (such as in the range of from about -10° F. to +5° F.). Thecontainer 14 is taken directly from the freezer and inserted into thedispenser 10 without the need for thawing. The dispenser 10 canimmediately proceed to dispense beverages from this frozen concentrate.

The dispenser 10 includes a housing 16 on legs 18, a cup support 20, adrip tray 22, and a pair of dispensing nozzles 24. The dispenser 10 is atwo flavor dispenser, however, a dispenser according to this inventioncan include any desired number of dispensing mechanisms for dispensingone, two, three or more different beverages. Because each of thedispensing mechanisms are the same, only one will be described herein.

The dispenser 10 includes a canister 26 for holding a concentratecontainer 14, pressurizing means 28 for pressurizing the concentrate inthe canister, a disposable combination metering pump and mixing nozzle30, a metering pump actuating means 32, and a water pump 34 for pumpingwater to the mixing nozzle for mixing with the concentrate to producethe beverage. The dispenser 10 also includes a refrigeration system 36.

The canister 26 and the pressurizing means 28 will now be described.Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the canister 26 is preferably a stainless steelcylinder enclosing a concentrate chamber 38 and having an opening 40through which a concentrate container 14 is inserted into the chamber38. After the concentrate container 14 is inserted into he chamber 38, acover 42 is closed and locked. The cover 42 is hingedly connected to thecanister by means of a hinge 44 and also includes a lock 46. The lockincludes a handle 48 connected to a pair of pins 50 which extend througha pair of supports 52 connected to the cover 42 and project through astationary plate 54 adjacent to the cover 42. It is noted that the cover42 preferably includes an opening 56 therein to accommodate a handle 58on the concentrate container 14. The cover 42 also includes an opening60 to accommodate a discharge spout 62 of the container 14. Therefrigeration system 36 includes a cooling jacket 37 around eachcanister for keeping the canister 26 at a desired temperature selectedfrom the range of from about 0° F. to 40° F. The refrigeration system 36also includes a water bath 176 (see FIG. 5).

The other end of the concentrate chamber 38 is formed by a piston 64 ofthe pressurizing means 28. The pressurizing means 28 include a motor 66,a gear box 68, a belt 70 extending between a pair of pulleys 72 and 74,a screw-threaded rod 76, and an internally screw-threaded collar 78connected to the piston 64. Connected to the collar is an arm 80 havinga key-way slot therein associated with a rod 82 to prevent the collar 78from turning with the screw-threaded rod 76 so that rotation of the rod76 will cause linear movement of the piston 64. The piston 64 preferablyapplies about 40 psig of force on the concentrate.

The concentrate metering pump and mixing nozzle unit 30 will now bedescribed. The pump and nozzle unit 30 is a single integral anddisposable unit which comes with the concentrate container 14 and whichafter depletion of the concentrate in the container 14 is disposed ofalong with the concentrate container. In this way, all of the productcontact surfaces are disposed of, which provides the dispenser 10 withthe important advantage of requiring virtually no cleanup orsanitization. The pump and nozzle unit 30 is made up of the threeseparate pieces of a pump housing 90, an annular piston 92 and a valveand mixing nozzle 94. The pump housing 90 is L-shaped in configurationand includes an inlet conduit 96 and a concentrate pumping chamber 98.The annular piston 92 is captured for reciprocating movement inside ofthe pumping chamber 98. The valve and mixing nozzle 94 are slideablymovable inside of the annular piston 92 and includes a valve opening 100and a concentrate discharge conduit 102 which communicates with thevalve opening and through which concentrate is forced from the pumpingchamber 98 into the mixing nozzle 104, which preferably includes astatic mixer 106. The valve and mixing nozzle 94 include a pair ofspaced apart flanges 108 in which the yoke 134 of a metering pumpactuating means fits to cause vertical reciprocating movement of thevalve and mixing nozzle to create the pumping action of the meteringpump, as shown in FIGS. 7A-7G. FIG. 7A shows the top dead centerposition which is the start/stop position. FIG. 7B shows the downwardmovement of the valve and closing of the valve opening 100. FIG. 7Cshows the valve engaging the piston 92 such that further downwardmovement of the valve also moves the piston down opening and enlargingthe pumping chamber 98, as shown further in FIG. 7D. FIG. 7E shows theupward movement of the valve closing the intake to the pumping chamber98. FIG. 7F shows the further upward movement opening the valve opening100 and the contact with the piston 92 after which further upwardmovement as shown in FIG. 7G compresses the pumping chamber, forcingconcentrate through the valve opening 100 and out of the mixing nozzle94.

The pump housing 90 also includes a pair of spaced apart flanges 116in-between which a stationary plate 117 fits to hold the housing 90stationary.

The mixing nozzle portion of the valve and mixing nozzle unit member 94includes an inlet port 110, a beverage dispensing outlet 112 and a waterinlet port 114 for receiving pressurized water pumped to the mixingnozzle 94 from the water pump 34.

The metering pump actuating means 32 will now be described. Thisactuating means includes a motor 120 and a slider crank mechanism 122.The mechanism 122 includes a vertically sliding plate 124. Connected tothe vertical plate is a first horizontal plate 126 having a large cutout128 to accommodate the pump and nozzle unit 30 without touching it, awater passage block 130 connected to the plate 126, and a secondhorizontal plate 132 connected to the block 130 and having a yoke 134 tobe received in between the pair of spaced apart flanges 108 on the valveand mixing nozzle 94. The water block 130 includes a water passageway136 therein connected at one end to a water line 138 leading from thewater pump 34 and at the other end being connected to a coupling 140defining the water inlet port to the mixing nozzle. The verticallyreciprocating elements ride on a pair of spaced apart rods 142 inbushings 144.

The slider crank mechanism preferably has a positive stop device shownin FIG. 2 and including a stop arm 146 pivoted at 148 and held in adisengaged position as shown in the right in FIG. 2 by a spring 150. Ifit is desired to effect a positive stop, then a solenoid 152 isenergized, which will cause the stop arm 146 to pivot to the positionshown in the left in FIG. 2 to engage the slider crank mechanism toeffectuate a positive stop.

The water pump will now be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5shows the water pump 34 with a piston 160 which includes a reduceddiameter section 162 which extends through a hole in the horizontalplate 126. There is a predetermined amount of play between movement ofthe plate and the piston because while the metering pump requires aboutthree-fourths inch of movement for its pumping action, the water pumprequires much less, preferably about one-fourth inch of movement. Asshown in FIG. 5, water enters into a pumping valve 164 through an inletline 166. The pumping valve includes two check valves 168 and 170 and aflow control 172. Water flows from the pumping valve through a heatexchange line 174 located in a water bath 176 and then to the waterblock 130 described above. A water line 178 extends from the pumpingvalve 164 to the water pump 34. It will be seen from FIG. 5 that onestroke of the water pump draws water into the water pump from thepumping valve and on the pressure stroke forces water through thepumping valve to the water block 130.

The dispenser 10 will have several delays. When a new container 14 isinserted the dispenser will pressurize first, delaying pumping action.Next the pump motor will start, allowing for water pressure to beestablished then the pumping action will begin and the water solenoidwill open which dispenses a finished beverage. Thereafter, each time adrink is dispensed the screw jack motor 120 which pressurizes theconcentrate will begin about one second prior to the pumping action andwater solenoid opening. A proximity switch 180 (see FIG. 2) is used toinform the system about the number of strokes made by the pumpingmechanism.

FIG. 8 shows a package including a corrugated box containing fourdisposable concentrate containers 14 and four pump and nozzle units 30.As noted previously, both the concentrate container and the pump andnozzle unit 30 are disposable after use. Of course, the concentratecontainers can be delivered in other sizes, types and arrangements ofboxes and shipping crates other than the one shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which acanister 190, having a refrigeration jacket 192 is arranged verticallyabove the pump and nozzle 30. The canister 190 includes a cover 194which is locked thereto and which includes an opening 196 therethrough.The cover includes a coupling 198 for attachment to a pneumatic line 200for pressurizing the concentrate chamber 202 inside of the canister 190.This is an alternate method for forcing the concentrate from theconcentrate container into the metering pump and mixing nozzle.

FIGS. 10A-10D, show another embodiment of a metering pump 300, similarto that shown in FIG. 7. The metering pump 300 differs from that shownin FIG. 7 in including detent insured positive stops for the piston 302.The reason is to require extra force to move the piston. This isimportant because since the discharge valve 304 causes the piston tomove, it might do so prematurely if friction between the valve and thepiston were greater than that between the piston and the housing 306.This improvement eliminates the need to have close tolerances andreduces the chance of improper volumetric metering.

It is noted that the pump 300 also allows the inlet opening 308 in thevalve to remain full open throughout the dispensing portion of themetering cycle. This provides the advantage over known metering pumps ofthis type in which the piston goes all the way to the top of the pumpingchamber 310 of improving control of the metering of the fluid byeliminating the flow restrictions through an inlet opening of decreasingarea as the piston approaches the top of the chamber.

The metering pump 300 includes the stationary housing 306, thevolumetric piston 302 mounted for reciprocating movement inside of thehousing 306, and the discharge valve 304 mounted for reciprocatingmovement inside of the piston 302. The stationary housing 306 includes aliquid pumping chamber 310 therein and a liquid inlet passageway 312 incommunication with the pumping chamber 310. The piston 302 is annular inshape and is mounted for reciprocating movement inside of the housing306 and is in sliding engagement with the housing. The piston has anaxially extending cylindrical valve chamber 314 therein. The dischargevalve 304 is cylindrical and is mounted for reciprocating movementinside the valve chamber 314 of the piston 302. The valve 304 includes aliquid passageway 316 therethrough including a diametrical passageway318 with inlet openings 308 on opposite sides of the discharge valve304. The inlet openings 308 are spaced-apart from a proximal end of thevalve 304. The passageway 316 also includes an axial passageway 322connected to the diametrical passageway and extending from thediametrical passageway to a distal end of the valve 304 where thepassageway 316 has its outlet end. The discharge valve 304 includesfirst and second axially spaced-apart piston moving means for causingthe piston 302 to move only when both (1) the discharge valve 304 ismoving and (2) one of said moving means is in contact with said piston.The piston 302 has a top dead center position shown in FIG. 7A and FIG.10C wherein the piston stops short of a top wall of the pumping chamber310 leaving an upper portion 330 of the pumping chamber 310. Thedischarge valve 304 is in its top dead center position when the pistonis also in its top dead center position and the inlet openings 308 arelocated in the upper portion 308 of the pumping chamber 310, whereby theinlet openings 308 remain full open throughout the dispensing portion ofthe metering cycle.

The first and second piston moving means can be seen both in FIG. 7 andin FIG. 10. The first piston moving means includes a bottom shoulder 332of the valve which contacts an annular ring 334 of the piston, and thesecond piston moving means includes a shoulder 336 on the valve whichcontacts a bottom end 337 of the piston 302.

The housing 306 includes a pair of spaced apart annular o-ring grooves340 and 342, and the piston 302 includes an annular o-ring 344 on itsouter surface (preferably molded as n integral portion of the piston302) to require that additional force be used to move the piston. Theo-ring grooves and the o-ring are located such that the o-ring mateswith one of the grooves at each of the top dead center and bottom deadcenter positions of the piston. The friction between the valve 304 andthe piston 302 is thus insufficient to cause the piston to move, suchthat the piston will move only when contacted by one of said pistonmoving means on said valve.

FIG. 10C shows the top dead center position and FIG. 10A shows thebottom dead center position. FIG. 10B shows the valve moving up and juststarting to contact the piston, whereby further upward valve movementwill cause the piston to move and the o-ring 344 to come out of theo-ring groove 342. FIG. 10D shows the valve having moved down and justcontacting the piston whereby further downward valve movement will causethe piston to move.

FIGS. 11-19 show a beverage dispenser 400 according to a currentlypreferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 20 shows a differentmetering pump (a swash plate pump) that could be used in the dispenser400 in place of the preferred progressive cavity pump.

As will be seen, the dispenser 400 differs in certain respects from theearlier described dispenser 10. For example, dispenser 400 does not usethe pressurizable canister 26, nor a mechanical pressurizing means, nora water pump 34. The dispenser 400 only pressurizes the container toabout 10-12 psig, whereas the dispenser 10 could pressurize to 40-50psig. It is noted that the dispenser 10 of FIGS. 1-8 can dispensepliable juice concentrate at lower temperatures (for example, -15° F.)and higher viscosities (for example, up to about 13,000,000 centipoise)than can the preferred embodiment to be described with reference toFIGS. 11-19. Thus, dispenser 10 can dispense pliable concentratedirectly from the freezer with no conditioning, whereas the dispenser400 might require some minimal conditioning of the concentrate packagebefore dispensing from it.

The beverage dispenser 400 includes a housing 402, a compartment 404 forreceiving a one-piece, unitary, disposable, concentrate container pumppackage 406, an air dive assembly 408 for pressurizing the concentratecontainer 410 portion of the package 406, a pump drive means 412adjacent the portion of the compartment 404 that receives the pump 414portion of the package 406, a water line 416 for connection to adisposable mixing nozzle 418 connected to the pump 414, and arefrigeration system 420.

The dispenser 400 is a plastic and stainless steel unit with curvedcorners and a lighted, curved front panel or door 422 with a removablelens 424 to change the graphics in front of a low heat fluorescent light426. The door 422 opens vertically about a hinge 428 to provide accessto a service panel 430 having a load/unload button 432 and to provideaccess to the compartment 404; preferably there are two suchcompartments 404 side-by-side as in FIG. 1; because they are identical,only one is shown.

The one-piece integral concentrate container-pump package 406 preferablywill come two to a case and the separate mixing nozzle 418 is thensnapped to the package. The package is shown in FIGS. 17-19.

The rear wall of the compartment 404 is a wall of the refrigerationsystem's ice bank tank 434 in which the water is kept at 34° F. tocontrol the temperature of the concentrate and to cool the incomingwater, via water cooling coils 436. The package 406 is slid into thecompartment 404 and alignment lugs 438 on the pump 414 align the pumpwith the pump motor.

The package 406 has indicator means thereon, and the dispenser 400 hasmeans for automatically reading the indicator means and thenautomatically setting the pump motor speed in response to the type ofproduct (concentrate) in the package 406 (different products requiredifferent ratios of concentrate to water and thus different pumpingspeeds). This indicator means is preferably a plurality of lugs on thefiller cap. The automatic reading and setting means can be any suchknown means, for example, it can mechanically sense the lugs and thenelectrically set the pump speed to one of several predetermined speeds.The water flow rate is preferably fixed. The dispenser 400 alsorecognizes if no package is present, so as to inactivate the air drive.After inserting the package, the operator presses the load/unload button432 which operates the air drive system 408 described below. This systemlocks the package 406 in place and punctures a label 444 over a hole 446in the top wall of the package 406 above the package piston 448, with atube 450 to pressurize the concentrate. The air drive system 408 alsoseals around the tube 450. The package remains pressurized until theload/unload button 432 is pushed, to vent the package and shut off theair. The air pressure is at about 50 psi in an accumulator tank butregulated to no more than 10-12 psi in the container 410. The regulatoris not accessible to the store operator.

The water line 416 connected to the mixing nozzle 418 is regulated downto about 40 psi and includes a quick-disconnect with shut-off and aregulator washer.

The dispenser 400 can have either a push and hold dispense button 452 oran automatic fill system, such as an ultrasonic system.

The dispenser 400 provides accurate metering regardless of viscosityvariations at or near freezer temperatures and with no or minimalconditioning (brief heating) of the package 406 after removal from thefreezer, depending on the freezer temperature and the product.

Referring now in more detail to FIGS. 11-19 of the drawings, thedispenser 400 includes the housing 402 on legs 454, a cup support 456, adrip tray 458, and a pair of dispensing nozzles 460 (only one of whichis shown in FIG. 11). The dispenser 400 is preferably a two-flavordispenser (that is, it holds two separate disposable packages 406).

The compartments 404 each have a rear wall 462 which is semi-cylindricaland is a wall of the refrigeration tank 434. The pump drive means 412 ispreferably a variable speed electric motor with a coupling 464 toreceive a drive shaft 466 of the pump 414 The refrigeration system 420includes the tank 434 for holding an ice water bath, a compressor 468, afan 413, a condenser 414 and evaporator coils 474.

The air drive system 408 includes a compressed air source 476 includingan air compressor, a motor, pressure regulators, a pressure vessel andair line 478. One embodiment of the air drive system is shown in FIGS.12A-12C and another is shown in FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIGS. 12A-12C show one air drive assembly 510 used to pressurize theinside of the container 410 and drive the piston 448 to forceconcentrate into the pump 414. Of course, it will be understood that itcan be used in a system not requiring a piston. The air drive assembly510 receives compressed air from the compressed air source 476 viacompressed air line 478. When a new package 406 is placed into thecompartment 404, compressed air is delivered to the top of springassembly 534 which is movably connected to spring 535. As the pressureis increased, spring 535 compresses which lowers spring assembly 534until its inner edge resides in cavity 536 and its plate portion restsupon the top of container 410, as shown in FIG. 12B. That motion opensthe small passageway into cavity 537 (see FIG. 12B). As a result of theair pressure, plate 538 then begins a downward movement compressingspring 539. As the air pressure increases above plate 538, its downwardmovement forces the air contained in cavity 544 through outlet 545,thereby reducing the resistive pressure to that downward movement. Theair pressure increases such that plate 538 compresses spring 539 andmoves downward with enough force such that hollow punch 541 puncturescontainer 410, releasing the compressed air into container 410. Duringregular dispensing operation, the air pressure on top plate 538 is keptat the appropriate level to keep springs 535 and 539 completelycompressed, thus creating cavity 542. In addition, the inside ofcontainer 410 above piston 448 is pressurized through its exposure tocavity 542 via the hollow opening of punch 541. The pressure maintainedin cavity 542 and, subsequently, above the piston 448 is keptsufficiently high to provide constant pressure against the product bythe piston causing the product (or concentrate) to be forced into thepump 414 on demand.

Referring to FIGS. 13A-13C, the operation of an alternative andcurrently preferred embodiment of an air drive assembly 511 will bediscussed. As above, alternative embodiment of air drive assembly 511receives compressed air from a compressed air source 476 via compressedair line 478. After a new package 406 is inserted, compressed air isdelivered to the top of spring assembly 560 which is movably connectedto spring 561. Initially, the pressure is increased causing spring 561to compress, which lowers spring assembly 560 until an air tube or punchassembly 562 punctures container 410. Punch assembly 562 compriseshollow punch 564, spring 565, spring 566, and guard 567, all of whichare attached to the plate portion of spring assembly 560. Guard 567 is acircular shroud about hollow punch 564 attached to the lower plateportion of spring assembly 560 by spring 565 used to prevent systemoperators from injuring themselves on the sharp point of hollow punch564. Spring 566 allows spring assembly 560 to move relative to guard567, thus allowing hollow punch 564 to penetrate container 410. Spring566 is attached to flange 568 of hollow punch 564 and also to the lowerplate portion of spring assembly 560. As the pressure above springassembly 560 in cavity 569 is increased, the restoring force of spring566 is initially strong enough to keep the head of hollow punch 564resting on top of the plate portion of spring assembly 560 allowinghollow punch 564 to puncture canister 563. However, after container 410has been punctured, the pressure in cavity 569 is increased such thatspring 561 is fully compressed, and the restoring force of spring 566 isovercome to the extent that cavity 570 is created as shown in FIG. 13C.As spring assembly 560 is compressed away from hollow punch 564, orifice571 in the shaft portion of hollow punch 564 is exposed. Orifice 571delivers compressed air from cavity 569 to container 410 through thehollow shaft portion of punch 564, thereby pressurizing container 410.During operation, the pressure maintained in cavity 569 and,subsequently, above the piston 448 residing in container 410 is keptsufficiently high to provide constant pressure against the productcausing that product to be forced into pump 414 on demand.

Although this embodiment uses a compressed air assembly, a collapsiblebag type container could be used or the piston drive could bepressurized through another means such as a mechanical one.

After the container 410 is inserted into compartment 404 andpressurized, it delivers the product to the progressive cavity pump 521via feed tube 522. Progressive cavity pump 521 is driven by motor 523,and its operation will be discussed herein with reference to FIGS.14-16. In this embodiment, water from cooling coils 436 is delivered towater block 524 via conduit 525. The delivered water is mixed with theproduct delivered by the pump 521 from the container 410 into mixingchamber 532. In addition, before the final product is dispensed, it isfurther mixed by static mixer 526.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 16, the operation of progressive cavity pump521 in regard to a first embodiment of the present invention will bediscussed. In operation, product is fed into the pump 521 via feed tube522 where it is pumped to mixing chamber 532 through the progressivecavities formed as rotor 527 rotates within stator 528. Rotor 527 isfurther provided with vanes 529 (see FIG. 16) which extend beyond thepump cavity into mixing chamber 532. The purpose of vanes 529 is tobreak up the pumped product into several segments which reduces the backpressure on the stator and in the mixing chamber so that it will readilymix with the water. The water to be mixed with the product is deliveredto water block 524 via water conduit 525 where it enters into passageway530. Passageway 530 extends completely through rotor 527 and opens intomixing chamber 532 via opening 531. As the water enters mixing chamber532 through opening 531, it is deflected rearwardly into mixing chamber532 where it dislodges product from vanes 529 and mixes with thatproduct as it is forced from pump 521. The water and product then passesthrough static mixer 526 for a final mix on its way to a cup.

Referring to FIG. 15, a second embodiment and currently preferred of thepresent invention will be described. In this embodiment, the pumphousing is integral with the container 410 making it a single unit. Itis intended that the entire unit (package 406 plus mixing nozzle 418) bedisposable. Of course, the container 410 may be of any desired typeknown in the art and which is suitable for use with the progressivecavity pump; however, the embodiment disclosed herein is a piston typecontainer. In addition, the water is injected directly into mixingchamber 532 via inlet 533 to produce the final mixed product. Inoperation, the container and pump package 406 is placed into thecompartment 404 such that the pump 414 is rotatably connected to themotor 412 via rotor shaft connector or bendix drive 550. The pump anddispensing unit of this embodiment operate in a similar manner aspreviously described with reference to FIG. 14. The movement of the pumpwhen turned on, including the movement of the stator, assists in heatingthe concentrate and making the concentrate more pliable since it is incontact with concentrate at the area where the concentrate feeds intothe pump inlet. As is known in progressive cavity pumps, one of the twoelements of the rotor and stator is a single lead screw and the other isa double lead screw, and the rotor drive shaft is off center. In thepreferred embodiment, the rotor is made of high density polyethylene andthe stator of rubberized polyolefin.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show the preferred one-piece, unitary package 406 of thepresent invention including the concentrate container 410 and the pump414. The container 410 has a cylindrical side wall 606, a top wall 608,a bottom wall 610, a concentrate chamber 612, and a concentrate outletopening 614. The container 410 preferably has a hole 446 in the top wall608 thereof covered by a label 444 which is pierced by the punch or airtube 450. The container 410 also has a piston 448 which is forced downby the air pressure and pushes the concentrate 515 into the pump 414.The hole 446 is not essential because the air tube could alternativelypierce the top wall. The pump 414 includes a housing 615 having anintermediate wall 616 to define the stator chamber 617. The stator 528'abuts the wall 616. The wall 616 has an opening 618 which is a bearingfor the ring 619 of the rotor 527'. The ring 619 has openings orserrations 613 in its periphery which are the concentrate inlet openingsto the pump. The rotor shaft includes a labyrinth seal 611 where itrotatably extends through the housing 615.

The container 410 is preferably injection molded of polyethylene with awall thickness of about 0.060 inch. The container 410 is preferably hotplate welded to the pump 414, which is also injection molded ofpolyethylene. While other types of pumps could be used in this package,the pump is preferably a positive displacement pump and preferably arotary positive displacement pump (in contrast to a reciprocating pump)and most preferably a progressive cavity pump.

The package 406 is preferably oriented upside-down during shipping. Thecontainer 410 is filled through a fill opening 600 adjacent the pump. Afill opening cap 602 seals the opening 600 after filling. The stator528' can move or flex sideways during pumping by virtue of the flexibleseal 604; this avoids the need for an expensive constant velocity jointto the pump.

The mixing nozzle 418 is attached to the pump 414 either before or afterinserting the package 406 into the dispenser 400. After insertion andattachment of the mixing nozzle, the water line 416 is connected to themixing nozzle.

Although the preferred pump is a progressive cavity pump, other pumpscan be used, such as the swash plate pump 620 shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.The swash plate pump 620 includes a main housing 622 and at one endthereof a seal 624 and manifold 626. At the other end of the mainhousing 622 is a capture housing 628 holding for rotation a cylinder630, pistons 632, and a swash plate 634. A drive shaft extends out ofthe housing 622 for connection to a motor.

An important feature of this invention is that the package and air drivestuff the pump. That is, the concentrate is in flow communication withthe pump inlet and is under pressure. This cannot be done with somepumps, such as flexible vane pumps, because the concentrate would beforced right through the pump.

The preferred embodiment of this invention allows dispensing of aconcentrate at or near freezer temperatures with no or minimalconditioning (warming). This invention allows dispensing at or above theice point (and in some cases below the ice point) and provides a productwith an ice point at or close to freezer temperatures. The ice point isthe temperature at which crystals of ice begin to form. The prior artteaches that the concentrate must be at least 35°-45° F. This inventioncan dispense at 5° F. for all products (except grapefruit, which must beat about 10° F.). The ice point differs for different products. Also,freezer temperature differs for different freezers, varing from about-25° F. to 10° F. The ice point for 5+1 orange juice (58.5 Brix) isabout 0° F. and for 3+1 orange juice (41.8 Brix) is about 17.5° F. Thisinvention includes providing a product which has an ice point at or nearfreezer temperatures. If the ice point for a product is 0° F., and thefreezer temperature is -5° F., then a little, quick, warming would beused (for example, by immersing in hot water for a short time or placingin a microwave). This is what is meant by "little or no conditioning" incontrast to the prior art practice of placing in a refrigerator for twoto three days, to thaw to 35° F. to 40° F.

The concentrate should be high enough in ratio (e.g., 5+1) such that icedoes not form at or near freezer temperatures.

The prior art dispensers require the viscosity of the concentrate to bebelow about 8000 centipoise. The present invention works even though theviscosity is much higher, such as 500,000 centipoise and often up to13,000,000 centipoise.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been describedabove in detail, it is to be understood that variations andmodifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention. For example, any desired system forapplying pressure to the concentrate to force it into the metering pumpcan be used. It is not essential that it be mechanical or pneumatic andif it is, it is not essential that the specific system described abovebe used. Also, other arrangements for actuating the metering pump can beused and they do not need to be mechanical and even if mechanical theydo not need to be the specific arrangement shown above. Otherarrangements of metering and other mixing systems can be used. Themetering pump and mixing nozzle do not have to be part of the samesingle integral unit. While the preferred embodiment of this inventionis for use with juices, such as orange juice, it is not limited thereto.Other concentrate containers can be used in place of the specificconstruction described above. The container need not have the specificcylindrical shape shown nor need the piston have the shape shown. Othersuitable shapes can be used. The pump could be on the top or side wallof the container, for example. An electrical resistance heating elementcould be used in the compartment, if desired. While a positivedisplacement pump is preferred, others could be used in conjunction witha separate metering device downstream therefrom. Although it ispreferred to use a one-piece, integral package, including theconcentrate container and pump (i.e., with the pump embedded orincorporated into the container as a part thereof), the container andpump can be separate if desired and then connected together, as themixing nozzle is connected to the package.

What is claimed is:
 1. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:(a) ahousing; (b) a compartment in said housing for receiving a one-piece,unitary, disposable package including a concentrate container and apositive displacement pump; (c) an air drive system in said housing forpressuring concentrate in a concentrate container located in saidcompartment; (d) a water line in said housing and having a flexibledistal end for connection to a disposable mixing nozzle; and (e) a pumpdrive motor in said housing for driving a pump received in saidcompartment; and (f) a one-piece, unitary disposable package located insaid compartment and including a concentrate container and a positivedisplacement pump having a pump inlet open to a concentrate chamber insaid container and having a pump outlet, and a disposable mixing nozzleconnected to said pump outlet and to said water line, said positivedisplacement pump being selected from the group consisting of: rotarypumps; swash plate pumps; or reciprocating piston pumps.
 2. Thedispenser according to claim 1 wherein said package includes a quantityof concentrate in said chamber, a piston on top of said concentrate anda top wall and wherein said air drive system includes means forautomatically inserting an air tube sealingly through said top wall toapply air pressure on top of said piston.
 3. The dispenser as recited inclaim 2 wherein said concentrate has an ice point in the range of fromabout -5° F. to 10° F.
 4. The dispenser as recited in claim 3 whereinsaid ice point in the range of from about 0° F. to 5° F.
 5. Thedispenser as recited in claim 1 including means for energizing said pumpto dispense a beverage.
 6. The dispenser as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid dispenser includes a refrigeration system for controlling thetemperature of said container.
 7. The dispenser as recited in claim 4wherein said pump is a rotary pump.
 8. The dispenser as recited in claim7 wherein said pump is a progressive cavity pump.
 9. The dispenser asrecited in claim 7 wherein said pump is a swash plate pump.
 10. Apostmix beverage dispenser comprising:(a) a housing; (b) a compartmentin said housing for receiving a disposable concentrate container and adisposable pump; (c) an air drive system in said housing forpressurizing any concentrate in a disposable concentrate containerlocated in said compartment; (d) a water line in said housing adapted tobe connected to a disposable mixing nozzle; (e) a pump drive motor insaid housing for driving a disposable pump received in said compartment;and (f) a disposable concentrate container and a disposable pump locatedin said compartment, said container including a top wall, a quantity ofconcentrate therein, a piston on top of said concentrate, and said airdrive system including means for automatically inserting an air tubesealingly through said top wall to apply air pressure on top of saidpiston.
 11. The dispenser as recited in claim 10 wherein said pump is aprogressive cavity pump.
 12. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:(a)a housing; (b) a compartment in said housing for receiving a unitary,disposable package including a concentrate container and a pump; (c) anair drive system in said housing for feeding pressurized air into aconcentrate container located in said compartment; (d) a water line insaid housing having a flexible distal end for connection to a disposablemixing nozzle; (e) a pump drive motor in said housing for driving a pumpreceived in said compartment; (f) a one-piece, unitary disposablepackage including a concentrate container and a positive displacementpump having a pump inlet open to a concentrate chamber in said containerand having a pump outlet located in said compartment, and a disposablemixing nozzle connected to said pump outlet and to said water line; and(g) said package including a quantity of concentrate in said chamber, apiston on top of said concentrate and a top wall and said air drivesystem including means for automatically inserting an air tube sealinglythrough said top wall to apply air pressure on top of said piston. 13.The dispenser as recited in claim 12 wherein said pump is a progressivecavity pump.
 14. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:(a) a housing;(b) a compartment in said housing for receiving a unitary, disposablepackage including a concentrate container and a pump; (c) an air drivesystem in said housing for feeding pressurized air into a concentratecontainer located in said compartment; (d) a water line in said housinghaving a flexible distal end for connection to a disposable mixingnozzle; (e) a pump drive motor in said housing for driving a pumpreceived in said compartment; and (f) a one-piece, unitary disposablepackage located in said compartment, said package including aconcentrate container and a swash plate pump, and a disposable mixingnozzle connected to said pump and to said water line.
 15. A postmixbeverage dispenser comprising:(a) a housing; (b) a compartment in saidhousing for receiving a unitary, disposable package including aconcentrate container and a pump; (c) an air drive system in saidhousing for feeding pressurized air into a concentrate container locatedin said compartment; (d) a water line in said housing having a flexibledistal end for connection to a disposable mixing nozzle; (e) a pumpdrive motor in said housing for driving a pump received in saidcompartment; and (f) a one-piece, unitary disposable package located insaid compartment, said package including a concentrate container and aprogressive cavity pump having a pump inlet open to a concentratechamber in said container and having a pump outlet, and a disposablemixing nozzle connected to said pump outlet and to said water line. 16.The dispenser according to claim 15 wherein said package includes aquantity of concentrate in said chamber, a piston on top of saidconcentrate and a top wall and wherein said air drive system includesmeans for automatically inserting an air tube sealingly through said topwall to apply air pressure on top of said piston.